Osama Bin Laden was apparently buried in the waters of the north Arabian sea, but internal emails from intelligence service Stratfor, obtained by hacker group Anonymous and posted by WikiLeaks suggest otherwise.

According to official accounts, he was wrapped in a sheet and “eased” off the decks of the U.S.S Carl Vinson just hours after he was killed on May 2 in a United States-led operation, in accordance with Muslim tradition.

Stratfor CEO George Friedman appears to agree, noting: “Eichmann was seen alive for many months on trial before being sentenced to death and executed. No comparison with suddenly burying him at sea without any chance to view him which I doubt happened.”

A note adds: “It seems to me that by dropping the corpse in the ocean, the body will come back to haunt us… gotta be violating some sort of obscure heathen religious rule that will inflame islam?

"The US Govt needs to make body pics available like the MX’s do, with OBL’s pants pulled down, to shout down the lunatics like Alex Jones and Glenn Beck.”

The exchange casts a mystery over just what happened to the body of the Al Qaeda leader.

The thread of emails - under the heading The Global Intelligence Files - was published by WikiLeaks on 27 February 2012 and contains correspondence dated between July 2004 and late December 2011.

The site states: "They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency.

The New American reports: “The release of the Stratfor emails will likely revive the debate over just what happened to bin Laden’s body and consequently, whether or not US forces actually killed the terrorist mastermind in the first place.

“Secrecy prior to the raid is understandable; a refusal to produce the key piece of evidence that the raid was successful, on the other hand, is quite curious indeed."

According to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, a member of the military “read prepared religious remarks” that were translated into Arabic at the burial ceremony.

Bin Laden moved into the three-storey house in 2005 and lived there until it was stormed by Navy Seals in May 2011.

The house was located just half a mile from one of Pakistan’s top army training academies, which caused embarrassment for the country’s intelligence services, AP reported.

US officials say there was no evidence senior Pakistan officials were aware of Bin Laden’s location.

Residents living nearby told the Independent they had thought the building would be turned into a mosque, school or clinic.

Shah Mohammad said: “I think they should build a mosque. If you build a school there, people will just associate it with Bin Laden.”

A source had told the paper demolition was on the cards ahead of the event, adding: “There is an issue, in our culture, of such places becoming shrines.”

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A combination made on February 26, 2012 shows (at the bottom) Pakistani media personnel and local residents gather outside the hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad following his death in a US Special Forces ground operation on May 3, 2011 and (at top) local residents watching ongoing demolition of the compound where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was slain last year in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 26, 2012. Pakistani security forces began demolishing the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed in a covert US raid last May in the garrison town of Abbottabad, police and witnesses said. AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

This combination of two photographs show, at top, ongoing demolition works at the compound where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was slain last year in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 26, 2012, and at bottom, the same compound with the main building no longer standing following the completion of demolition works on February 27, 2012. Pakistani bulldozers on February 27 finished demolishing the house where Osama bin Laden lived for at least five years until he was killed by US special forces last May. Only the wall of the compound remained intact, surrounding the debris of the three-storey building where the Al-Qaeda leader hid in the garrison town of Abbottabad and a security official confirmed the demolition had been completed. AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Pakistani policemen walks near the boundary wall which surrounded the house of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, slain last year during a covert US special forces mission, following the building's demolition in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 27, 2012. Pakistani bulldozers on February 27 finished demolishing the house where Osama bin Laden lived for at least five years until he was killed by US special forces last May. Only the wall of the compound remained intact, surrounding the debris of the three-storey building where the Al-Qaeda leader hid in the garrison town of Abbottabad and a security official confirmed the demolition had been completed. AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Pakistani children play cricket near the boundary wall which surrounded the house of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, slain last year during a covert US special forces mission, following the building's demolition in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 27, 2012. Pakistani bulldozers on February 27 finished demolishing the house where Osama bin Laden lived for at least five years until he was killed by US special forces last May. Only the wall of the compound remained intact, surrounding the debris of the three-storey building where the Al-Qaeda leader hid in the garrison town of Abbottabad and a security official confirmed the demolition had been completed. AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Pakistani children play cricket near the boundary wall which surrounded the house of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, slain last year during a covert US special forces mission, following the building's demolition in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 27, 2012. Pakistani bulldozers on February 27 finished demolishing the house where Osama bin Laden lived for at least five years until he was killed by US special forces last May. Only the wall of the compound remained intact, surrounding the debris of the three-storey building where the Al-Qaeda leader hid in the garrison town of Abbottabad and a security official confirmed the demolition had been completed. AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Young boys play cricket beside demolition works on the compound where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was slain last year in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 26, 2012. Pakistani security forces were on February 26 demolishing the compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden was killed in a covert US raid in May. AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Young Pakistani boys play near demolition works on the compound where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was slain last year in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 26, 2012. Pakistani security forces were on February 26 demolishing the compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden was killed in a covert US raid in May. AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Pakistani security personnel conduct demolition works on the compound where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was slain last year in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 26, 2012. Pakistani security forces were on February 26 demolishing the compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden was killed in a covert US raid in May. AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

UNSPECIFIED:This frame grab from the Saudi-owned television network MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Center) shows alleged terror mastermind Osama bin Laden gesturing an undated videotape broadcast by the Dubai-based MBC 17 April 2002. Bin Laden hailed the economic losses suffered by the United States as a result of the September 11 suicide attacks on Washington and New York in the tape which was reportedly recorded in December. 'God ordered us to terrorize the infidels, and we terrorized the infidels,' the spokesman of Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network Suleiman Abu Ghaith said in the same tape, claiming the group's responsibility for the September 11 suicide attacks. AFP PHOTO/MBC (Photo credit should read AFP/Getty Images)

Pakistani policemen stand near the boundary wall which surrounded the house of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, slain last year during a covert US special forces mission, following the building's demolition in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on February 27, 2012. Pakistani bulldozers on February 27 finished demolishing the house where Osama bin Laden lived for at least five years until he was killed by US special forces last May. Only the wall of the compound remained intact, surrounding the debris of the three-storey building where the Al-Qaeda leader hid in the garrison town of Abbottabad and a security official confirmed the demolition had been completed. AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)